100 Happy Days Challenge

In February, I dared myself to be happy for one hundred days by taking in the 100 Happy Days Challenge. To be honest, I’d been plagued by doubts if I could see it through especially in the first few weeks. I am not exactly a person who barfs glitters and rainbow and I have those days when I can be quite difficult to deal with because I tend to lean on the dark side of things. When I started this I was at the peak of my depression, a condition I have been battling my entire life, hence, attempting to take this challenge is no picnic. But I was determined and the fact you are reading this post means I’d been successful.

The task didn't come without some issues. Among the challenges that I faced were...

• Boring days – Some days were so uneventful I had to make an effort to find something to be happy about.
• Sad days – This is the most difficult because dealing with depression means you are feeling miserable most of the time, so imagine trying to be happy when you’re feeling anything but.
• Bad days – You know those days when bad things pour that you get frustrated and angry, and you just want to kill some people. I had many of those.
• Forgetfulness – Sometimes I forget, in fact there is one day that I missed posting so I had to extend another day just to complete the challenge.

Those were the challenges but as you can see, I’ve managed to trump them all. Does it mean I had been happy the entire 100 days? Of course not. It only means I was able to see past the ugly things and find something pleasant even in the shittiest of days.

So what are the things that made me happy in those 100 days?

100 Happy Days List

1. Olaf of Frozen
2. Tea Farm with Ni and Es
3. Dumaguete sylvanas
4. Valentine sweets from colleagues
5. Wickedmouth Unang Putok book signing
6. Castle (TV series) book version
7. New e-books
8. Sheldon and Amy’s first kiss (The Big Bang Theory)
9. New York cheesecake
10. Beef wanton mami
11. Finishing level 167 of Candy Crush
12. Mitch Albom book signing
13. Swiss chocolate cake
14. Sold two of my books
15. Pizza treat by Dennis
16. Earning from selling books
17. Coffee with Nicalyn
18. Jackson and April (Grey’s Anatomy)
19. Test shoot for a TV commercial
20. Halabos na hipon
21. 12 Years a Slave
22. Watching live bands at SaGuijo
23. Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza with Ni, Rhoda, and Alchris
24. Blue Jasmine
25. Chitchat with Patti
26. Uniqlo tank tops
27. Seafood marinara
28. Drinking with Bembe and her friends
29. Training ISO newbies
30. Gino’s Oven Pizza with FTWWP
31. Hanging out with Shayne in her place
32. Lunch with Maggie
33. Words of encouragements from friends
34. Late-night meetup with Christian
35. Free McMuffin from McDonalds
36. Peach tart
37. Boracay
38. Puka island
39. Checking out Boracay’s night scene
40. Christian’s birthday party
41. PHP 500 off on my room rental fee
42. Visiting Shayne in her office
43. Choies clothes
44. Commune
45. Merienda with Raffy, Orlene, and Rhoda
46. Pure & Best chocolate drink
47. Grateful Protons Meetup
48. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
49. Greenbelt chapel
50. Customized tote bag
51. Mango and banana
52. Polvoron
53. Trip to Ifugao
54. Amphitheater rice terraces
55. Riding top load in Banaue
56. Conquering Sumaguing Cave
57. Dagdagay
58. Free laptop use courtesy of Alchris
59. Opening a BDO account
60. Bagnet
61. Cloudy day
62. Staycation at Best Western Oxford Suites
63. Bato Springs reservation
64. A glass of milk
65. BDO debit card
66. Afritada cooked by Shayne
67. Dressed-up earphones
68. Mochi
69. Staycation at Berjaya Hotel
70. Berjaya lotion
71. Mangoes from Gerald
72. Jopoy’s
73. Pizza treat by officemates
74. Coffee
75. Polished nails
76. Sophie’s Mom
77. Carrot raisin bread
78. Loan reimbursement
79. ISO team
80. Aircon in the bus
81. New backpack
82. Sponsored staycation at Casa San Pablo
83. Lake Pandin
84. Listener doll
85. Jollibee’s Creamy shake
86. Part-time job
87. Innodata summer outing at Ocean Park, Subic
88. FTWWP’s summer outing at Bato Springs
89. Hair treatment
90. The happy pig in the Farmville app
91. Work tips from Roland
92. Free and convenient doctor consultation
93. Hot calamansi juice
94. Witches of East End
95. Cold soda drink
96. Pasalubong from Alchris
97. 2:54
98. Treat by Diwa, Glaiza, Zu, and Ina
99. Doughnuts from Roland
100. Central with friends

The conclusion

My 100 Happy Days journey officially ended on May 22, 2014. I can honestly say that my state of being is a lot better now than it is 100 days ago.

“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”
– Dalai Lama

From doing the challenge I learned that “happiness is a choice” is not just some corny cliche but a truth. In those 100 days, I was compelled to examine life in a different spectrum. It has helped me see with clarity, what used to be a blurred and inconceivable theory, that anyone, including me, who has been suffering from clinical depression for quite a long time, can actually be happy. Happiness that may not be in a grand scale and may have only come in small doses, but happiness nonetheless. I’ve been very uncomfortable, at times, frustrated because some days were just really bad I was forced to go out of my way to find something to be happy about. But this has taught me that no matter how awful a certain day may seem, there is always something good in it.

To all people who have one way or another, contributed to the success of this undertaking, thank you very much. And my lovelies, I wish you all happiness.